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Most agents maintain appointments for a variety of carriers with whom they rarely write business, either because the carrier serves a specific niche market, the carrier was previously a large player in their region and may become so once again, or simply because they want to maintain as large a variety of options for clients as possible. In most cases this is a smart choice, even if you almost never write any business with certain companies, as long as you’re sure to keep up with your certifications and licensing. The UHC AARP branded products, however, are an important exception.

AARP/UHC uses what they call the Authorized to Offer (A2O) program. Agents are split into levels based on the amount of business written, both in a given year and a lifetime, and agents who reach the higher level are given certain perks. More importantly for some agents, however, is that AARP/UHC enforces a minimum quota to maintain the ability to write Medicare Supplement business. There are some key things to remember.

You must write a minimum number of active and paid Medicare Supplement plans to maintain authorization. – If you meet the annual minimum of five active enrollments, you maintain your A2O level one status for that year. If you don’t meet the minimum, you’ll be placed on a temporary deauthorization from selling AARP branded Medicare Supplement plans. You can also maintain your level one authorization, regardless of the amount of new business written in a particular year, if you have minimum of 100 active enrollments on the books. This is good news for anyone who may be transitioning away from AARP but would like to keep it as an option just in case.

You aren’t completely banned from AARP products during initial deauthorization.Â – If you don’t write enough business to maintain your level one status, you’ll be temporarily deauthorized. During that period, while you can’t write AARP branded Medicare Supplement business, you can write their MAPDs and PDPs, assuming you’re certified for them. Of course, this business does not count towards meeting your minimum production requirement.

If you fail to meet the minimum production requirement two years in a row, the deauthorization becomes permanent.Â – The permanent deauthorization only applies to Medicare Supplement plans, the same as the initial deauthorization.

If you do get deauthorized, it doesn’t impact commissions on business already on the books.Â – Any renewal commissions, or commissions on new business under the minimum production requirement, will still be paid even if you’re later deauthorized. It will obviously prevent you from writing new Medicare Supplement business with them, but you’re existing business will continue to earn you ongoing income regardless.

While there are other carriers who will terminate non-producing agents, it’s rare to see such a specific system of quotas. AARP has a powerful brand draw for many seniors, and is a good choice in some demographics, so it’s important to bear in mind what you need to do to continue to offer their Medicare Supplement plans.